


Words Could Never Be Enough

by corruptedkid



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Bandom Bingo 2017, Drabble, Fluff, M/M, Synesthesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-02 20:37:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10226825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corruptedkid/pseuds/corruptedkid
Summary: Gerard's constantly in awe, but can never fully express it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> written for prompt: free space in bandom bingo
> 
> to all those who don't know - synesthesia is a condition also referred to as "a confusion of the senses." basically, the five senses overlap. someone with synesthesia might hear a bell ring and smell soap, or taste mint whenever they see a specific shade of green. i dunno man. i have synesthesia myself and it's great. this story is just me venting about how stunning frank is tbh

Gerard had known from the very beginning that Frank was special.

He always liked meeting new people - it took him a few conversations to adjust to someone new, to distinguish from first impressions, then second, and then finally settle into the rhythm of interaction. It was almost addicting. The world was beautiful enough on its own, with its jumble of sights and sounds, but the fresh assortment of sensations that came along with meeting someone new was overwhelming in just the right way. It was such a rush, Gerard couldn’t _not_ enjoy it. 

But if meeting anyone was a rush, he could never put those first few moments with Frank to words. 

***

_Gerard glanced up from his textbook. He knew he wasn’t being subtle, but he just couldn’t stop looking._

_Standing across the aisle was another student - maybe a sophomore, he was too sure of himself to be a freshman - with his nose buried in a small red book. He hadn’t even bothered to sit down after finding it. He was leaning against one of the shelves, utterly engrossed, and Gerard was just as captivated._

_He didn’t know what it was that made this boy so fascinating. There was just_ something _about him. Maybe it was the tattoos coiled around his arms, Gerard thought. They didn’t seem to adhere to any particular theme, but they fit together, somehow. Gerard liked the one on his left arm best. He could make out a streak of cherry red, and a burst of tiny stars like the sound of a keyboard tapping. They would be better up close, he was sure, but he wasn’t about to get up and ask to see them._

_The boy looked up from his book, and Gerard pretended to be scribbling down notes._

_The second he looked down again, Gerard was back to examining him. He could tell a lot from where he was sitting, but he couldn’t see the color of the boy’s eyes, and it was driving him a little crazy._

_Just as Gerard was noticing the boy’s lip ring, he looked up from his book again, and their eyes locked._

_Gerard looked away, but not fast enough; the boy had surely seen him staring. Sure enough, he slid the book he was holding back onto the shelf and sidled down the aisle, right up to Gerard._

_”Hi,” he said. ”Nice shirt.”_

_God, he was so much prettier up close. And that_ voice _, holy_ shit _. It sent spirals of sunset orange across the corner of Gerard’s vision, and the taste of toffee flooded his mouth. Gerard was pretty sure his blush could be seen from the moon._

_Oh, shit. He was staring again, and hadn’t said a word in response. Fuck._

_”Hi!” he blurted. “I’m Gerard.”_

_”Frank,” said the boy, smiling. Fuck, he had a really nice smile. “So,_ New Hope _or_ Empire _?”_

_Gerard glanced down at his Star Wars t-shirt and felt a smile creep onto his face. “_ New Hope _, definitely.”_

_Frank pulled out a chair and sat down next to him. He opened his mouth to ask a question, but though Gerard could have listened to him talk all day, the words flew right through his head._

_Frank had hazel eyes. Of course he did. Gerard had never been able to pick a favorite eye color, but looking at Frank, he just about melted on the spot._

_God, he was so fucked._

***

Gerard didn’t think he’d ever get over the way Frank made him feel.

It was more than just a quickened pulse and flushed cheeks; it was the contrast between the _idea_ of Frank and the _reality_. If Gerard didn’t know Frank, he would only see the snappy black and white of his name, underscored by a hint of baby blue and the scent of linen. But knowing him added a whole new dimension to the experience.

Gerard didn’t think he’d ever known a more beautiful person in his life.

***

_”Synesthesia?”_

_”Yeah.”_

_”So, like… When I talk, it sounds like music, or something?”_

_Gerard smiled. “Something like that.”_

_Frank raised an eyebrow. “I get the feeling there’s a lot of details you aren’t telling me.”_

_He looked somewhere between curious and hopeful, with a bit more yellow in voice than was usual. Gerard wrapped one arm around his waist as they walked._

_”Well, there’s a lot to say. And all of it’s cheesy,” he said. He hadn’t even begun yet, but he felt silly just thinking about speaking the words out loud. “You’re just… really beautiful,” he said awkwardly. “In every way.”_

_Frank grinned. He opened his mouth, probably to say something teasing, but Gerard cut him off. “I mean it,” he said. He could feel himself blushing, but he held eye contact, watching Frank’s expression shift as he realized Gerard was serious. “You’re beautiful.”_

_For once, Frank had no response. He just smiled, ducked his head, and listened as Gerard confessed every detail of his confused senses, the individual feelings that painted his picture of Frank._

***

It wasn’t unusual for Gerard to give out compliments, given the abundance of lovely sensations in his world, but fuck, Frank was on an entirely different level. He was an experience to top all others. He was a work of art, and Gerard would never stop admiring him, not even when Mikey hung out with them and spent the entire time tossing popcorn at Gerard and telling him to quit looking so moony-eyed. 

Whatever. He wasn’t moony-eyed, he was just… appreciative.

***

_”Hey, Gee?”_

_Gerard rolled over to face Frank. “Yeah?”_

_Frank’s face was half-squished against a pillow, and his cheeks had a faint rosy tint. “Tell me what I look like,” he said sleepily._

_Gerard smiled. “I just told you, like, three days ago.”_

_”Tell me again,” Frank mumbled. “I forgot.”_

_Gerard rolled his eyes, searching for the right words as he pulled Frank in closer. “Sure you did. Mmm… Well, your voice is orange. I told you that.”_

_”And red when I’m sarcastic?” Frank could pretend all he wanted, but there was no mistaking the pleased tone in his voice. He loved Gerard’s descriptions of him. No matter how he tried to feign innocence, they both knew he was secretly a huge sap._

_”Yeah. And your eyes smell like rain, did I tell you that?”_

_Frank perked up. “What? Last time you told me I smell like smoke.”_

_”See, you did remember!” said Gerard, triumphant. “You just wanted me to say it again, admit it.”_

_”Oh, shut up. I remember it being different, okay?”_

_Gerard kissed his forehead. “Okay. Your voice is a different color when you’re lying, though, just so you know.”_

_”Bullshit!”_

_”It’s totally true.”_

_”It is not! You didn’t answer me, though. How come I smelled like smoke before and now I’m rain?”_

_”You were playing guitar, before.” Gerard reached beneath the blankets to lace his fingers with Frank’s. “You always smell like smoke and metal after you’ve been playing.”_

_Frank considered this. ”Sounds badass,” he said._

_”It is,” Gerard agreed. “You just radiate badass. I could tell you played before you even told me, you know that?”_

_Frank snorted. “Yeah, ‘cause of the callouses.”_

_”No, I’m serious. Guitars have this,” Gerard raised one finger and drew a squiggly line in the air, “Vibe. The color and the sound, I dunno. It reminded me of you.”_

_”So, you can magically tell what instruments people play?” Frank giggled. “I dunno, still sounds like bullshit to me.”_

_Gerard huffed. “You don’t make fun of me when I tell you your laugh looks like a tiger lily.”_

_”Well, that’s different.”_

_”How is it different?” Gerard asked. He pressed a kiss to Frank’s cheek. “‘Cause it’s sweet?”_

_”Nah,” said Frank, but he couldn’t hold back a smile after Gerard kissed the corner of his mouth._

_”Liar. You like when I compliment you.”_

_”Shut up, you make it sound like I’m fishing.”_

_”I never said that. I just said you like being complimented, which is true, and also adorable. See, don’t deny it, you’re blushing,” said Gerard, poking Frank’s cheek._

_”I’m not!” said Frank, his cheeks bright pink._

_”Yes you are. It smells like carnations, in case you were wondering.”_

_There was a long pause before Frank mumbled, ”I wasn’t.” Gerard didn’t think he’d ever heard a statement more halfhearted. He raised an eyebrow._

_Frank eyed him for a full minute before giving in. ”Okay, I was,” he grumbled._

_Gerard smiled._

***

Sometimes, Gerard had to stop and think about how lucky he was. 

He could describe Frank a million times, and he would never run out of words. There was always something to compare him to. No matter how the circumstances changed, Frank was gorgeous, and he would never cease to inspire Gerard. The problem wasn’t that there were no words to describe Frank. The problem was that there were too _many_. He could capture the sparkle in Frank’s eyes, or the reckless energy that came off him in waves when he was throwing himself into his music, or the softness that took him over in the early mornings when he hadn’t fully woken up, and there would still be more to tell. He could never fully express what Frank meant to him. It was a bit frustrating. 

But then again, it was one of the reasons Gerard loved him.


End file.
